Safety shoes



Oct. 7, 1969 F. A. WILMANNS ETAL 3,470,630

SAFETY SHOES Filed Feb. 6, 1968 NVENTORS FREDERCK A. WILMANNS EDWARD A. OTT

M'l-M ATTORNEYS United States Patent Ofiiice A 3,470,630 Patented Oct. 7, 1969 3,470,630 SAFETY SHOES Frederick A. Wilmanns, Milwaukee, and Edward A. Ott,

Merrill, Wis., assignors to The Weinbrenner Shoe Corporation, Milwaukee, Wis., a corporation of Wisconsin Filed Feb. 6, 1968, Ser. No. 703,462 Int. Cl. A43b 7/00, 19/00 US. Cl. 36-72 9 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the invention The present invention relates to safety shoes of the type worn by workmen in foundries, factories, steel mills and the like to reduce the possibility of injury to their feet from falling objects or molten metal or the like.

Description of the prior art The present invention comprises an improvement in safety shoes of the type having a rigid toe construction and an instep guard or shield adapted to overlie the wearers instep. An example of a safety shoe of this type is disclosed in Patent No. 3,082,553, which patent was granted on an application filed by Frederick A. Wilmanns, one of the applicants herein.

Prior safety shoes of the general type herein concerned have usually employed strap and buckle connections or the like to removably secure the instep guard in position on the wearers foot. However, it has been found that where such instep guards are not premanently attached to their shoes many workmen will discard the same or neglect to use them, thus losing the advantage of such a shoe and increasing the possibility of serious foot injuries. For this reason, the purpose of the improved safety shoe disclosed in said prior Patent No. 3,082,553 was to provide an instep guard that is permanently hingedly attached to the shoe so that it cannot be neglected or discarded by the wearer, said guard being temporarily swingable to a raised, out-of-the-way position to permit the lacing and unlacing of the shoe. The safety shoe disclosed in said prior patent has proven very practical, and the principal purpose of the present invention is to provide an improved instep guard arrangement for shoes of this general type which further reduces the possibility of injury to the wearers instep by providing novel means for causing the force of a blow on the instep guard to be transmitted to the rigid toe piece.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a new and improved instep guard arrangement for safety shoes of the type used by workmen in factories, foundaries, steel mills, as well as other occupations. Some of such safety shoes are provided with a leather covered metal toe portion, and in addition include a rigid guard or shield adapted to be mounted over the instep portion of the shoe. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a hinged instep shield for such shoes having novel force-transmitting means thereon designed to bear against the rigid toe portion in a manner whereby the force of a blow on the wearers instep will be transmitted to said metal toe portion, thereby minimizing the possibility of serious injury to the workmans instep.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an instep guard structure having improved means for utilizing the regular shoelaces to releasably secure said guard in its instep-covering position.

Still further objects of the present invention are to provide a safety shoe having a novel and improved instep guard structure which is strong and durable in construction, which is relatively simple and inexpensive to manufacture and install, which is reliable in use, and which is otherwise particularly well adapted for its intended purposes.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING In the accompanying drawing, wherein the same reference numerals designate the same or similar parts in all of the views:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of the improved safety shoe with the instep shield in its operative, instepcovering position;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary longitudinal sectional view through the forward portion of the shoe and instep shield;

FIG. 3 is a top elevational view of the shoe; and

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary top elevational view with the instep shield pivoted forwardly to show the hinge connection and force-transmitting element on the underside thereof.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now more particularly to the drawing, the improved safety shoe comprising the present invention includes a high work shoe 10, principally of leather, having a sole 11, heel 12, and an upper 13 including a toe portion 14 and an instep portion 15, the latter being provided with conventional laces 25, lace-receiving eyelets 27, and hooks 27'.

A rigid shield or guard 16 (FIG. 2) is secured within the toe portion 14 to provide a safety box toe construction, as is well known in the art, said guard being formed of steel or other rigid material to provide a protective covering over the wearers toes. In accordance with the present invention a hinge element 17 is spot welded or otherwise permanently secured on the upper surface of said metal toe piece 16 over the forward end thereof, said hinge element projecting through an opening provided therefor in the leather shoe covering 18, and having its forward end rolled as at 17' to receive a transverse hinge pin 19. The positioning of said hinge element 17 at the forward end of the toe is unlike the hinge arrangement disclosed in the aforementioned Patent No. 3,082,553, wherein the instep guard hinge bracket is mounted adjacent the rearward edge of the box toe, the purpose of which changed hinge location in the present invention will become apparent hereinafter.

The instep shield 20 is saddle-like in form, being concavo-convexly curved both longitudinally and laterally to fit the contour of the instep 15 of the shoe, while the lower, forward portion of said shield is designed to overlap the metal toe piece 16, as illustrated.

Welded or otherwise permanently secured to the underside of said instep shield 20 is a force-transmitting element, preferably in the form of a short length of steel rod 21 which is spaced rearwardly from the hinge mounting 17. Said rod member 21 is arranged transversely of the longitudinal axis of said shield, and is designed to bear against the metal toe of the shoe when said shield is in its instep-covering position. In the illustrated embodiment of the present invention said rod 21 is about 1 /22" in length, and is positioned to engage the metal toe plate 16 about /2" from the rearward edge of said metal toe piece, but said dimensions are not critical and the invention is not to be limited in this respect.

The instep guard or shield 20 is preferably formed of steel, but it is to be understood that said shield may be formed of a suitable plastic, fiberglass, aluminum, wood, or other suitable material. Preferably, a substantial portion of the underside of said shield is lined with sponge rubber 22 or other cushioning material which is designed to function as a shock absorber in the event of a blow.

Secured to the underside of the instep shield 20 at the forward end thereof is a bifurcated metal hinge element 23 adapted to interfit with the aforementioned rolled portion 17' of the hinge member 17, the pin 19 being inserted through said interfitting elements to form a hinge connection pivotally attaching said instep shield to the shoe. Due to the hinge connection thus provided, said shield 20 may be swung from the position shown in FIG. 1, wherein it overlies the shoe instep, to a substantially upright position wherein it is spaced from the instep and permits the wearer to put on or remove the shoe without difiiculty, as will be hereinafter described.

The provision of the rod member 21 on the underside of the instep shield 20, as hereinabove described, is one of the principal features of the present invention. With said fulcrum-like member 21 engaged between the instep shield 20 and metal toe piece 16 the rigid portion of said shield is held in spaced relation above the wearers in step, with the cushion-like lining 22 interposed therebetween, and it has been found that the force of a blow received on said instep shield is transmitted through said member 21 directly to said metal toe piece. As a result, in the event a heavy metal casting or other object should drop on a workmans instep the part of the force of said blow will be transmitted to and absorbed by said metal toe and part will be absorbed by the cushion 22 to reduce the concentrated effect of said blow on the instep portion of the workmans foot, thereby minimizing the chances of serious injury.

It is to be understood that while a short length of steel rod 21 arranged laterally across the underside of the instep shield 20 provides an excellent force-transmitting member, as well as being easy to apply by welding, other suitable protruding elements and attachment methods could be utilized, and the invention is not to be limited or confined in this respect. Similarly, said force-transmitting element 21 could be welded or otherwise secured to the surface of the metal toe piece 16, in lieu of attaching the same to the undersurface of the instep shield 20.

To secure the instep shield 20 in its protective position overlying the wearers instep the regular shoelaces 25 are threaded progressively upwardly through the rows of eyelets 27 and intermediate portions of the laces are projected through a large eyelet in the form of a D-shaped ring 24 pivoted to and projecting beyond the upper end of said shield 20. Said laces are then laced around the hooks 27' and tied in the conventional manner. The result is that the instep shield 20 is not only permanently hingedly attached to the shoe at its lower end, but can be releasably maintained in operative position by means of the regular shoelaces 25, thereby eliminating the necessity for expensive and hard-to-manipulate strap and buckle assemblies.

Prior instep guards, such as the guard disclosed in the aforementioned Patent No. 3,082,553, have utilized the regular shoelaces to secure said guard in instep-covering position, but said prior devices have required the wearer to thread the laces through relatively small or restricted eyelets or the like in said guard member. Because of laziness or lack of time, in many instances workmen neglect to thread the laces through said restricted openings, with the result that the instep guard is not secured in its protective position. With the relatively large eyelet in the form of a D ring 24 utilized in the present invention, however, it is a simple matter to insert the laces therethrough and the likelihood of the workman failing to secure the guard in its instep-covering position is reduced.

To remove the improved safety shoe it is merely necessary to untie and loosen the upper portions of the laces 25 and manually swing the upper end of the instep shield 20 upwardly and away from the instep, said shield pivoting about the hinge bracket 17, 23. The lower portions of the laces may then be loosened sufficiently to permit the easy withdrawal of the shoe.

From the foregoing detailed description, it will be seen that the present invention provides a unique safety shoe having several important advantages over conventional safety shoes of the type herein concerned. With the novel instep shield featured in the present invention the force of a blow on the wearers instep is transmitted to and principally absorbed by the metal box toe portion of the shoe, thereby lessening the possibility of serious injury to the workmans foot. Moreover, said instep shield is provided with a novel shoelace-receiving ring which facilitates the interconnection between the shoelaces and shield, to releasably secure the shield in its instep-covering position. Said improved instep protector is relatively inexpensive to manufacture and install on a shoe, is strong and durable, and is reliable in use.

It is to be understood that while the present invention is described as being particularly well adapted for use in a safety shoe of the type disclosed in Patent No. 3,082,553, the invention can also be advantageously utilized with other styles of safety shoes having rigid toes, and the invention is not to be limited in this respect. In addition, it is to be understood that while a preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustrated and described herein, variations or modifications thereof will undoubtedly occur to those skilled in the art. What is intended to be covered herein is not only the illustrated form of the invention, but also any and all modified forms thereof as may come within the spirit of said invention.

What we claim is:

1. In a safety shoe having an instep portion and having a toe portion with a rigid toe protecting member therein, an improved instep guard structure, comprising: a rigid shield member positionable to overlie the instep portion of said shoe, said shield member having a lower, forward end portion overlapping said toe protecting member; a hinge connection connecting said forward end portion of the instep shield to said toe protecting member at a forward portion of said toe protecting member; and a rigid force-transmitting element carried by and projecting from one of said rigid members toward the other member in a location spaced rearwardly of said hinge connection and located between said toe protecting member and overlying shield member in a position to space said shield member above the toe protecting member and form a fulcrum to transmit a part of the force of a blow received by said instep shield member to said rigid toe protecting member while maintaining the shield member spaced above the instep portion of the shoe.

2. The structure recited in claim 1 wherein said forcetransmitting element is secured to the underside of said instep shield and projects downwardly therefrom.

3. The structure recited in claim 1 wherein said forcetransmitting element comprises a piece of rigid material arranged transversely of the longitudinal axis of said shield.

4. The structure recited in claim 1 wherein said hinge connection is located adjacent the forward end of said instep shield and hingedly connects the same to a forward upper portion of said rigid toe protecting member a substantial distance forwardly of the force-transmitting element in a manner whereby said shield can be swung from a normal, instep-covering position to a raised position permitting the lacing and unlacing of the shoe.

5. The structure recited in claim 1 wherein said forcetransmitting element is located near the rear edge of the toe protecting member and the hinge connection is located on a forwardmost portion of the upper part of the toe protecting member.

6. The structure recited in claim 1 wherein said forcetransmitting element comprises a rigid transversely-extending piece of metal permanently secured to the undersurface of said instep shield which projects downwardly a sutficient distance to maintain the shield spaced above the rear portion of the toe protecting member.

7. The structure recited in claim 1 in which the shoe has laces and in which there is a large metal ring connected to the upper end of said shield through which said shoelaces can be projected to releasably secure said shield in its instep-protecting position.

8. The structure recited in claim 7 wherein said ring References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,872,745 2/ 1959 Finegan 36-72 X 3,068,593 12/ 1962 ODonnell 36-72 3,082,553 3/1963 Wilmanns 3672 3,108,386 10/1963 MacQuaid 3672 3,175,310 3/ 1965 MacQuaid 36--72 3,242,597 3/ 1966 George et al 36--72 ALFRED R. GUEST, Primary Examiner 

